Age and Social Observation Effects on Theta Synchrony and Its Role in Adolescent Post-Error Control: A Computational Approach

Error monitoring allows for detecting mistakes and adapting behavior. Error monitoring is associated with increased theta (4-7 Hz) EEG activity recorded at midfrontal electrode sites located over the medial frontal cortex. Increases in theta synchrony after errors between midfrontal and lateral electrode sites, located over lateral prefrontal, motor, and sensory/parietal brain regions, are associated with post-error behavioral adaptations. However, there is a lack of research into whether such error-related theta inter-regional synchrony dynamics exhibit age-related changes across adolescence and whether such changes differ as a function of social observation. Moreover, there are discrepancies across studies in terms of how error-related theta synchrony between different electrode sites relates to specific forms of post-error adjustments. In this study, we used behavioral and EEG data from 262 adolescents aged 10-14 years who performed a flanker task twice: alone and while observed by a peer. Regardless of social observation, we found age-related increases in error-related midfrontal-frontolateral and midfrontal-midlateral theta synchrony. Additionally, we found that error-related theta synchrony between midfrontal and posterolateral regions increased only in the alone condition. Leveraging the shrinking spotlight drift diffusion model (SSP-DDM), we identified a positive association between error-related midfrontal-posterolateral theta synchrony and post-error attentional control but found no effects of social observation. These results are the first to demonstrate that error-related theta synchrony increases from early to mid-adolescence. Additionally, this work specifically links error-related midfrontal-posterolateral theta synchrony to post-error attentional control using computational modeling.